1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer able to link electronic mail functions with telephone functions, particularly the present invention relates to a computer able to connect the telephone of a receiver of electronic mail (text mail) to the telephone of a sender of electronic mail by dialing the sender's telephone number after retrieving the telephone number from the electronic mail or from the memory of the computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the number of users of electronic mail using a computer network has increased in step with the down-sizing of computer equipment and the increase in use of computer networks. Electronic mail can be printed, read, filed, forwarded to other individuals, perhaps with added comments, or read by the addressee at various locations. It is clear that such a service has many advantages over postal mail in terms of delivery speed and flexibility. In comparison with facsimile, which has also become very popular in recent years, electronic mail is more economical, has the advantage of flexibility as mentioned above, and is in principle more convenient as the data can be easily stored in a computer.
However, when a receiver of electronic mail is going to reply to the sender with electronic mail, that is, to reply via the keyboard, there the are the following problems: input of the message by a keyboard is a nuisance; the message may not actually express what the replyer wants to say; and the reply is not immediately delivered to the sender of electric mail. For any of these reasons, electronic mail is not always the best means for replying to electronic mail.
Accordingly, it is sometimes necessary to contact the sender of electronic mail by telephone. When the replyer wants to dial the sender's number, the replyer examines the telephone number written on the received electronic mail.
FIG. 1 shows one example of a conventional electronic mail system using a computer system. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1 denotes a first terminal at which electronic mail will be received, 2 denotes a second terminal from which electronic mail will be transmitted, 3 and 4 denote computers, 5 denotes a host computer forming a LAN (Local Area Network) with the computers 3 and 4, 6 denotes a first telephone provided near the first terminal 1, 7 denotes a second telephone provided near the second terminal 2, and 8 denotes a telephone company exchange.
In the system shown in FIG. 1, electronic mail (text mail) is transmitted and received between the first terminal and the second terminal via the computer 3, 4, and 5. When a user at terminal 2 (remote terminal) transmits electronic mail, and a user at terminal 1 (own terminal) 1 receives the same, the electronic mail is displayed on the display of the first terminal 1.
The receiver of the electronic mail dials the telephone number of the sender after reading the telephone number shown on the terminal display. That is, the receiver of the electronic mail at the own terminal 1 dials from the first telephone 6 to call the second telephone 7, and discusses the content of the electronic mail via a voice telephone service.
FIG. 2 shows another example of a conventional electronic mail system using a telephone system. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a first terminal (own terminal), 6 denotes a first telephone, 9 denotes a second telephone, 10 denotes a second terminal (remote terminal), 12 and 11 denote telephone company exchanges, 13 denotes a computer communication company, and 14 to 17 denote modems (modulators/demodulators) used to interface a computer with a telephone line.
In this system as shown in FIG. 2, when electronic mail (text mail) is transmitted from a user at terminal 10, the modem 15 converts the computer's binary code into a form that can be transmitted by telephone line. The electronic mail converted into a form of the telephone signal is transmitted to the computer communication company 13 via the telephone exchange 12 of the telephone company, and converted again to the computer's binary code by the modem 17 and stored by the computer communication company 13. When a user at the first terminal 1 contacts to the computer communication company 13, the computer communication company 13 informs the user at the first terminal 1 that electronic mail is available. When the user at the first terminal 1 send a password to the communication company 13, the stored electronic mail is transmitted via the modem 16, the telephone exchange 11 of the telephone company, and the modem 14 and is received by the first terminal 1, after being converted into the form of the telephone signal by the modem 16 and restored to the computer's binary code by the modem 14.
FIG. 3 shows an example of electronic mail displayed on the display terminal 1a of the first terminal 1.
The receiver of the electronic mail dials the sender's telephone number after reading the telephone number written in the electronic mail displayed on the terminal display 1a. That is, the receiver of the electronic mail at the first terminal 1 dials from telephone 6 to call the second telephone 7 in FIG. 1 or the second telephone 9 in FIG. 2, and discusses the contents of the electronic mail via a voice telephone service.
However, above-described system has the following problems: the receiver of the electronic mail has to dial the telephone number of the sender after reading the number thereof when the receiver wants to reply to the sender, which is troublesome; and sometimes inconveniences an unknown person by dialing a wrong number.